Ukrainian parliament passes law on educational rights of national minorities expected to lift Hungarian veto on EU accession
Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed bill No. 16119 on education in the languages of national minorities at its first reading and as a whole. Passing this law is Hungary’s condition for further advancing negotiations on Ukraine’s membership in the EU.
The vote took place during a plenary session of the parliament on 12 October 2026.
Screenshot of the broadcastA total of 273 members of parliament supported the document in its first reading, and 266 backed its final passage. MPs immediately instructed the head of parliament to sign the bill without delay and send it to the president for signature.
Hungary had been expecting the adoption of the law on education in the languages of national minorities, Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban said on 12 October ahead of a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. She said that the draft law on education for national minorities was the result of a bilateral agreement reached in May and June 2026. The official said that the adoption of this draft law was a condition for Hungary’s consent to open the second and third negotiating clusters on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
The law regulates the right of children from national minorities and indigenous peoples of Ukraine to study in their native language alongside Ukrainian, both during classes and outside of lessons. A school will receive national minority status if at least 50% of its students are taught in the relevant language. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Education, 149 schools could receive this status.
ZMINA previously reported that agreements between Ukraine and Hungary regarding the rights of the Hungarian national minority include the duplication of street names and the use of symbols of national minorities and permission to speak their native language during breaks in educational institutions.
In September 2026, Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hungarian Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Imre Juhasz. A joint working group will monitor compliance with the rights of national minorities: the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and the Ukrainian minority in Hungary.
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